


Rebel's Past: A Unfortunate Discovery

by Dollmaker_Storymaker



Series: Rebel's Past [1]
Category: Ever After High
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Growing Up, Mental Breakdown, tag may change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:49:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28370424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dollmaker_Storymaker/pseuds/Dollmaker_Storymaker
Summary: Since the destruction of the Storybook of Legends, things in the fairy tale world have been…..strange to say the least. The older generations have been changing into things they were never supposed to be. At least that’s how it would seem to those who don’t know any better.
Series: Rebel's Past [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2077782
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	1. Recap Disguised as a Prolouge

  
Ever after is a world were fantasy is a reality. A place were dragons and mermaids are as real as the clouds in the sky. And like every world there are schools. One of the most famous schools is Ever After High. Ever After High is a boarding school for the children of famous fairy tales.  
  
For instance, Apple White, the daughter of Snow White, is a straight A student and the co president of the student council. She was destined to be the next Snow White. She wanted life to be safe and predictable. However, (for some reason) , she wanted to be roommates with her destined enemy.  
  
Raven Queen is the daughter of the Evil Queen. She didn’t want to be like her mother. She is a kind person and doesn’t want to be feared. Other kids only started doing so when Legacy Day reared its ugly head. On the day she should’ve sealed her fate, she said no. She ripped her page out and slammed the book shut. She shattered what should’ve been broken long before.  
  
During Thronecoming season, the storybook was relieved to be a fake. The real one was found by the daughter of Sleeping Beauty. She then threw it down the well of wonder, breaking the magic barrier around the well and sending the book to Wonderland.  
  
In a twist of fate, A group of girls (Including Raven Queen), found their way to Wonderland. During their adventure, they found the real Storybook of Legends and destroyed it. The curse on Wonderland was reversed and everyone was now able to write their own destinies.  
  
Now, that does not mean that this is the end of the story. Far from it actually. They are only teenagers. Why there was this whole Dragon games episode were Apple got what she always wanted but not in the way she imagined it. But a skilled narrator wouldn’t spoil that. They would say “Watch the previous episode if you want to know what’s happening!” Speaking of which..  
  
Watch the show and read the books, if you wish to know what’s going on.  
  
Ahem, Sorry about that. Preliminaries and “Previously ons” and what not. This is the story about what happens after The End.


	2. Things change whether you want them to or not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had my dyslexic sister proof read this so please point out any spelling mistakes if are any

Madeline Hatter stretched in her chair. She was woken up far too early for her liking. Her father wanted to show her something before school. She wanted to go back to sleep. It’s not that she didn’t enjoy spending time with her dad! Its just that she wanted to be well rested for the last day of school. It was an exhausting year so she wants to make sure her friends have a nice and relaxing day. And trying to not be tired would dampen the mood. 

She scooted her chair closer to the mismatched table. How much longer would it take her dad to make breakfast?

The reason she was was home was because she always spent the last few weeks of school at the tea shoppe. Dad spent so many days alone, so why bother making him wait longer than necessary?

Her dad came in from the kitchen with two plates of breakfast. 

“ _Good morning, my darling daughter!_ ” He said in Riddlish. He sat the plates down on the table and joined her. He wearing a old white button-up, not stained but crinkled with age. Black suspenders held up his dull brown pants. 

She yawned then smiled. She was happy that her dad was here. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be without him. She always felt so bad for Lizzie and Kitty when they were stuck in Ever After. They were stuck without their family in a world they barely knew. At least Maddie had her dad. But that doesn’t matter anymore, they were back in Wonderland and they were happy.

“ _Hi dad._ ” She said with a voice thick with sleep. “ _Why did you wake me up so early?_ ” She grabbed her fork and dug in.

“ _Well,_ ” He sat his fork on the table.” _Since the portals to Wonderland have been opened, I’ve been wanting to go back. With you, of course. But you had to finish school and I had work. So since it is your birthday and the last day of school I thought why not!_ ” When he was done, he smiled and waited her response. 

“ _We’re going back home!_ ” She jumped out of her chair and slammed her hands on the table. After six long years of staying in the boring drab Ever After she couldn’t wait-

“ _Well, not exactly_ ” He motioned her to sit back down. “I still have lost to do before we can move back. We are just going back to see the house.” He sighed. “But we are going to Wonderland.” He smiled half halfheartedly 

That...was disappointing but at least she gets to see her home. She looked at her dad. She could wait longer. She took a deep breath and said okay. The two of them finished Breakfast in comfortable silence.  


...

Once they were ready, they walked through the floor length mirror in the hallway. Going through it felt like touching a cold window but all over your body. It made Maddie shiver. Traveling via rabbit hole was better in her opinion. You could see more for one, the space between was so chilly it forced your eyes closed. But going down a rabbit hole does take forever. The chill stopped.

She was in her house. The old one. Why didn’t she try to come here the last time she was in wonderland? I mean, sure, she was in Wonderland for the first time in six years and she was on a mission to save the queen, but why didn’t she just-

She felt her dad’s arm wrap around her shoulders. He squeezed her close as he walked down the hallway.

“Now’s not the time to be sad, my dear. We’re back home!” He waved his free arm around in the air. “For now at least.” He dropped his gesturing hand and let go of Maddie. They were in the living room. It was just how they left it. A complete and utter mess. 

Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust. The wooden coffee table was knocked over in a mad dash for the door. Her dad had hardly felt it when it happened. All he was focused on was running. Running away from the-

She shook her head. Not now please...She didn’t want to think about it.

Next to the table was a broken glass. It was thrown off the table when it was flipped. A coloring book was splayed next to the slipped cup. 

She went over and picked up the book, a picture only partiality colored stared at her. What would her life had been like if she wasn’t forced to leave? She picked up the book and closed it. She didn’t like thinking about that.

Hatter cleared his throat. She looked over her shoulder at him. 

“A maid is going to come over and clean this place up when we’re gone” He said. He was standing under the doorway to the basement. “I’m going to grab a few things to take home with me. I suggest you do the same.”

He’s leaving her. Alone. In the house they haven’t seen in six years. She smiled brightly.

“Okay, dad!” He disappeared down the stairs. 

Her smile fell. She guessed she could go and put her coloring book away.

As she walked down the hall, she looked at the family photos on the wall. Most of them were of her when she was a baby. Others were her and her dad. It had always just been the two them for as long as she could remember. There used to be pictures of her mom on the wall too. But her dad took them down. 

Why would you hang someone’s picture when you don’t know anything about them? He said to himself as he put them away for storage. Maddie rushed to her old room. She didn’t want to take the chance of her dad hearing her. He already had so much to worry about besides her. 

Her clacking heels slow to a stop when she was outside her old door, memories flooding her head. Her door was covered in stickers and crayon graffiti. She reached for the door knob. Its been six years since she last stepped foot in this room. She opened the door and was greeted with her old room. A twin sized bed sat in the corner, the covers were a mess. Dirty clothes litter the floor. She walked over to a bookcase on the wall. She sat the coloring book on top. 

It was so strange being back here after so long. The last time she was here was when she was a few months into being ten years old. She sighed. She felt old. 

She looked over at the bed. Crooked pillows coming out of their cases and stuffed animals littered the headboard. The blankets were pushed to one side, some were falling off the bed. She walked over and sat on a blank spot. The mattress creaked under her weight. 

She looked across the room. Her old art (stick figures and torn out coloring pages) littered the walls. There was a tiny little desk were she would work on anything and everything. 

Then there was the closet. The door frame was nicked with her past heights. A small mirror was hanging on the door. Her curly hair was tied in two matching pigtails with a warm brown teacup hat on top. Instead of her regular outfit, she was wearing a blue-and-white polka dot shirt with puffy sleeves and a warm brown skirt patterned with leaves. She was still wearing her regular tights but with knee high lace up brown boots.

She looked at her reflection. She stuck out like a sore thumb. The room was fit for a child not a teenager. Maddie no longer had a mountain of stuffed animals. She doesn’t color in coloring books anymore. She’s grown but her room was stuck in the past. She wished she could go back to it.

Her hand brushed against something soft. It was a blanket. One side was a soft cotton yellow and the other side was fuzzy and full of rainbow hearts. She refused to sleep without it when she was a kid. She’s going to take it home with her. She’s give it the love and attention it deserves. 

She stuffed it in her hat of many things and looked over the room for anything else she wanted to take with her. Nope, nothing. She walked out of the bedroom and stood in the hallway. 

Where to next? She couldn’t hear her dad’s narrator so that meant he was still in the basement. She could always check on him. You never know what kind of trouble he could get himself into. Sometimes Maddie has to help him get out from a pile of boxes he made fall on him. She regularly finds him still up at ungodly hours of the night. In fact, she even found him like that in Wonderland.

Maddie wondered why he slept on the couch rather than his bed. Was his bed uncomfortable? Was his ceiling fan loose and made noise every time it was on? Where there a city of rats above his bed that had a party every night?

She should check it out. She turned left and walked towards the master bedroom.

Cobwebs littered the hallway. She vaguely remembered what it looked like when people lived here instead of spiders and sad memories. She looked forward past the webs and the sadness. She marched over to the master bedroom’s door and tore it open. 

The room was horribly normal. Non of the furniture twisted in ways it should have, the floor wasn’t bright, poppy, eye bleeding colors. The bed wasn’t anything fun or usual, it was just a bed. Nothing more, nothing less. It looked like something out of Ever After!

Maddie stepped into the room. The only thing that wasn’t boring was the bookcase. It stretched the entire wall and touched the ceiling. The shelves twisted and curved till the books could only be read by mice. The books were every color she could think of. (and even some she couldn't) Some had their pages facing out instead of their spine.

She looked around the room as she walked to the only interesting thing in it. The bed looked like the show beds in a mattress store. Tucked in and not at all usable. She stopped in front of the bookcase and She dragged her fingers across a line of books. She stopped at a random one. It was a old and fading leather bound book with a ribbon as a bookmark. She grabbed it and flipped to the last page. 

“I failed. I failed to save my friends from a fake destiny. Now I’ll never see them again. I can’t take everyone back home with me, I would if I could but were would they live? People would notice a bunch of kids and their families missing. I can’t save them. I’m sorry, Merlin. I’m sorry, Ruby. I’m sorry, Cathie. I’m sorry.”

This was someone’s diary. 

Before she could think more about why it was here or what it meant, thundering footsteps sounded from the halls.

“We’re late!” Her old bedroom door was thrown open. She rushed out of the room and met her confused father in the hall. 

“Ah, there you are. We’re Late!” He grabbed her hand and ran through the mirror. She held the diary tightly. She didn’t want to loose it. The moment she stepped out of the mirror, she was rushed out of the door and was told to have a good day. 

“Love you, Dad!” She shouted as she skipped-ran to school.  


...

Since it was the last day of school at Ever After High, the students were allowed to roam the halls and chat, play games that were set up by the staff, or stop by some of the classrooms to watch movies. Maddie wanted to find her friends so she could spend what little time left she had with them. Talking on the mirrorphone just isn’t the same as being face to face. 

She wandered looking for Raven. She waved to some of the other students passing by. 

“Sup.” Cerise Hood, daughter of Red Riding Hood (And the Big Bad Wolf), waved as she ran off to join a race. Cerise was a weird quiet kid to most, but this year she decided to come out of her hood by joining the track team. She bested all the previous records in her first week. 

“ _I hope you win!_ ” Maddie regularly forgot that very few people in Ever After understood Riddlish. 

She past by Hunter Huntsman and Ashlynn Ella in the hall. Hunter was the son of a Huntsman and Ashlynn was the daughter of Cinderella. They’ve been a couple for about a year now. At least that’s what Maddie thinks. She had a hard time remembering when things ended and were they began. 

She so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn’t see Cedar Wood (Pinocchio’s daughter) in front of her.

“Oh! Cedar!” She tried to resist rubbing the sore spot that was forming. Bumping into a puppet person wasn’t the nicest thing.

“Oh, Hey Maddie. What’s up?” Cedar was putting discarded library books in her backpack. Most of them were about famous artists and their techniques. 

“I’m looking for Raven. I want to make sure she has a great last day because last year’s lead to a worry-full summer wondering what would happen this year.” She waved her arms around the air to mark this patch of air as last summer and this patch of air as the last day and how everything fell apart after that. “Do you want you help me find her?”

Cedar’s face scrunched up. “No. I really need to do some last minute packing and I want to finish my sketchbook before I leave.” She sighed. You see, Cedar was cursed/blessed (depends on who your talking to) to always tell the truth. There were two times were she could lie. The first time she was turned into a real girl by jabber magic and the other was because of the Cheshire cat. 

Maddie smiled. “I hope you have fun doing that. Do you know were she is?” She didn’t really mind Cedar’s always-telling-the-truth thing. It was nice to have someone give it to her straight instead of sugar coating it. 

“I think she’s in the library.” Cedar picked at the flaking paint on her fingers. Cedar paints on anything and everything. Maddie once bought an adorable nesting doll from her father’s shop. 

“Thanks, I can’t wait to see you again next year!” She ran off to find Raven while waving goodbye. 

On her way to the library, she spotted Lizzie Hearts and Kitty Cheshire walking off to either play croquet or to go to the Wonderland grove. She also saw Daring Charming talking to someone on his mirrorphone. He sounded tense. She hummed in slight worry. She hoped he was alright.

She pushed open the giant heavy doors to the library. The memory of finding Giles Grimm floated in the back of her head as she walked through the entrance. The library was sprawling with magic. Fairies danced in the air grabbing old books that no one reads and putting them in piles for anyone to grab. There were a few students sitting at the table reading, drawing, or talking on their mirrorphone. 

Since the library was so huge, Maddie listened for Raven’s narrator. Everyone had a narrator, some were obnoxious and loud, some were polite and fair, and others were so quiet that you would think they don’t exist. Last year, Raven’s narrator was also Apple’s. He wanted to be unbiased towards either of them. Maddie thought he was nice. She wished she knew why he was replaced. 

This year, they both have separate narrators. Apple has a female narrator who has the same ideals as her and Raven has a male narrator that supports her. (There’s also a younger more inexperienced one but Maddie couldn’t figure out who she’s narrating). 

Maddie followed the faint voice of Raven’s narrator like a person chasing a mirrornet signal. She climbed up a set of stairs leading to the second floor. She spotted a a girl with black and purple hair. She smiled and ran to give her a hug. 

“Raven! What’s up?”

“Oh! Hey, Maddie.” Raven hugged her back. “Not much. I was just returning some books.” 

Maddie let go of her and didn’t comment on the fact that they were on the second floor. But she did comment on Raven’s new hairstyle. 

The sides of her head were shaved and all of her hair was braided to one side. “Thanks, you look cute too.” She ran a hand over her braid and gestured to Maddie’s outfit.

She curtsied and sniggered. “Why, thank you, your majesty.” She said in mock adoration.

Raven gave a quick laugh in response. “Come on, man, stop.” She started to climb down the stairs with Maddie in tow. “Where were you, by the way?” 

Maddie’s smile became strained. “Me and my dad went to our old house.” She hoped Raven would change the subject.

“Oh.” She quickly realized what she meant. “Oh! I’m sorry. That must have been a lot.” She frowned in sympathy at her. 

It was. It was more than a lot. But Raven didn’t need to know that. “It’s alright. Anyway, what are you and Dex going to do? About summer?” 

Raven and Dexter had gotten together quite recently when compared to Hunter and Ashlynn. The two of them wanted to keep their relationship on the down low. It’s surprising that Blondie (The host of the hit gossip show “Just Right”) hasn’t found out about it. It’s hard to keep any kind of secret from her. 

Raven’s pale skin turned crimson. “I don’t really know. I mean we talked about it but we haven’t really figured out what we’re going to do.” She scratched the back of her neck and sighed. 

Maddie chortled. “Don’t worry! You’ve dealt with worse.” She wrapped her arm around her friend’s. 

The ravenette smiled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

They were in one of the many hallways in the school. One of the walls had a display case full of trophies and blue ribbons. 

“Hey, I heard that Pied Piper is playing “The Sound of Music”. Want to watch it?” 

Maddie checked her mirrorphone. It was eleven thirty-four. School would get out at one thirty. They had plenty of time. 

“Sure. Why not?” The two of them went off to find the Muse-ic classroom.

...

The bell rang right in the middle of the the movie. Maddie and Raven climbed out of the desks that they were sitting in and walked out of the classroom. Maddie waved goodbye to Mr. Piper. 

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Raven reached into her book bag and pulled out a present. “Happy Birthday.”

Maddie’s face split into a big enough grin to rival the Cheshire’s. She grabbed the present and ripped it open. Inside the wrapped up box was a teapot in the shape of a tea-time-table. She squealed in delight. 

“Oh! ThankyouThankYouThankyou!” She hugged the adorable teapot. “This is so cute!” 

“I knew you would like it.” Raven smiled. The sound of One Refection’s hit song filled the air. She pulled it out of her bag. “Hold on, It’s Apple. I got to take this.” She started texting while Maddie cooed over her birthday gift. 

She sighed. “I got to go pack.” She walked away while waving goodbye. 

Maddie’s smile flattened. She waved back. She gently squeezed her gift. Her father and her had a collection of novelty tea set. Some of them looked like historical figures like Joan of arc, Johnny apple seed, and Cleopatra. Many looked like famous castles throughout the ages. She couldn't wait to add this to the family. 

She quickly stuffed it into her hat to avoid it getting smashed in the mob of students leaving the campus. She struggled to keep up. Damn her tiny legs! By the time she was out the massive doors, she was huffing and puffing worse that a Wolf with asthma. 

Her mirrorphone blasted the chorus to "The Technicolor Phase". Her dad was calling her! 

She dug through her many things hat and practically tore out her pockets until she founded it. She answered at the last possible second. She started to walk down the steps while she talked. 

“ _Hiya, dad! what’s up?_ ” The two of them made it a unspoken rule to talk as much as they can in Riddlish.

“ _Hello, my darling dear! Is school over yet?_ ” Her dad used a old compact mirror phone instead of the newer models. Because of that, Maddie had to press hers against the side of her face in order to hear him any. 

“ _Yup!_ ” She nodded even though he couldn't see her. She skipped over the troll bridge and entered the Village of Bookend. 

Her father was ordering one of the employees around before he responded. “ _Good, Good. Where are you? I want to pick you up._ ” That was weird. Usually, he trusted her enough to make it home in one piece. 

“ _What? Why?_ ” Her confusion was palatable. A hybrid carriage zipped by her. She wanted to yell “Watch were your going” but she didn’t. She stuck closer to the sidewalk. You really get a sense of how many royals went to Ever After High when ever they start to leave. 

“ _For one, you nearly got ran over._ ” He sounded extremely bitter. Like the first and last time Maddie ever tried coffee. “ _Second,_ ” He paused. “ _Am I not allowed to pick up my little baby girl anymore?_ ” 

He laughed while she sighed through her nose. As much as she loved her dad there were a few things about him that annoyed her. One of those things was when ever he used his baby voice. 

“I’m outside The Glass Slipper.” She stopped talking in Riddish because she wanted to annoy him as revenge. 

The last ounces of laughter escaped him before he said. “Alright, I love you. See you soon.” 

She was a touch disappointed that her plan didn’t work but it didn’t bother her that much. “I love you too.” She hung up and waited for him.

After a short (but agonizing) wait, her father showed up. He wasn’t wearing the jacket that he dubbed a part of his uniform. (She remembered his narrator calling it “Obnoxious”) His hat was tucked under his arm. He motion for her to follow along. 

He plopped his hat on her head before he asked. “Do you want to have lunch at Old MacDonold’s today?”

She adjusted his hat to where she could she was going. “Sure!” She hopped along the sidewalk until her dad’s hand pulled her closer. She resisted the urge to look at him over her shoulder and tell him that she wasn’t a baby. 

They past the Yarns & Noble bookstore and had to wait an absurdly long time (10 minutes) in order to cross the street. The two of them walked into Wonderland Haberdashery & Tea Shoppe. The first and last week of the school year are the busiest time for the shop. The leaving students tried to absorb the wonderful atmosphere as much as they could. 

The haberdashery was a place were you could forget about your problems for a short time. A small piece of Wonderland that Ever After desperately needed. The Grove just couldn't compare to the delightful time one could have at the tea shoppe. Though a tea party in the Grove could be wonderlandiful if catered by them. 

Her dad grabbed his jacket and meandered them through the maze of customers and employees to the apartments door. The upstairs was were they lived and the downstairs was the storage room. The upstairs door was the only normal looking door in the entire shoppe. It was hidden far in the back past the kitchen.

“I have to do a couple of things before we leave, so” Her father started to walk back into the sea of work. “I’ll yell for you when I’m ready.” He swiped his hat off her head and walked away. 

Maddie watched him leave. She dragged a hand down one of her pigtails. She turned on her heel and open the door. Behind it was a flight of stairs. She sighed but an idea came to her. She braced herself and then cartwheeled up the stairs. At the top, fell on her bum and spun in circles on the floor. 

She hopped to her feet and dusted herself off. Well, that was fun! But she probably won’t be able to do it again. She walked past the bathroom and went through the living room.

She stood in front of a wall full of novelty teapots. She dug through her hat-of-many-things for her gift from Raven. She touched something leathery and, in her curiosity/confusion, she pulled it out.

It was the diary she found in her old house. She sat it on an empty spot on the shelf and quickly found what she was truly looking for. 

With the utter most care, she gently placed the sweetest gift she’s ever gotten on the shelf. She pushed it slightly to make sure it was completely on the shelf before swiping the diary and dive bombing on the couch. 

She flipped it open to the last page. 

“I failed. I failed to save my friends from a fake destiny. Now I’ll never see them again. I can’t take everyone back home with me, I would if I could but were would they live? People would notice a bunch of kids and their families missing. I can’t save them. I’m sorry, Merlin. I’m sorry, Ruby. I’m sorry, Cathie. I’m sorry.” 

There was a smudged out date before the next entry. She could make out “1993”

“How can I live as someone I’m not? I’m suppose to be me and no one else! But that’s not what Mr. Grimm thinks. I don’t want to live like this. I can’t live like this. I love you. I promise I do. But I can feel myself slipping. I want to leave as me. Not as “Alice”. 

I want to be me again. I want to live my own life. My destiny is still in my hands. My name will never be Alice. I will forever be” 

“Altsoba Beatrice Liddel.” Maddie was compelled to read aloud. She didn’t know why she read it aloud but she had to. 

Something creaked open. She tried to see where it was coming from but it wasn’t anywhere but it wasn’t no where either. It kept getting louder and louder until it stopped like it never existed. 

She sat on the couch confused. What just happened? She had just read the last page of her mother’s diary and now nightmares exist in Ever After. She sat the diary on the cushion next to her. 

Her father yelled her name. She rushed downstairs to get lunch with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is in the works but might take longer because schools starting up again for me. Criticism is appreciated


End file.
